Finally the dog days of the NBA off season are in the rearview mirror, training camp doors have thrown open and the players and coaches have returned to begin a new campaign. What’s going to happen this year for the Raptors? 4 years now since their championship campaign, do they have what it takes to challenge again? Let’s get right into it.
For the first time in their history, the Raptors won all their preseason games. At a high level that seems like a good thing but is it? Firstly, it’s important to know that the Raptors have won 4 games in a preseason several times before this year, most importantly the 2018-2019 season when they won their championship. But typically, teams that do well in the preseason fail in the regular season and vice versa. It’s almost as if the weaker teams play their best players in the preseason and the best teams give more time to their bench players.
This preseason, what was more important than wins was how they got them. Top scorer for the Raptors with an impressive 17 points per game on 63% shooting, Scotty Barnes. Is this the year he comes into his own and takes the reigns of this organization? One thing the Raptors have been missing since the departure of Kyle Lowry is a leader. Could this be the year Barnes steps up? Let’s hope so.
Personnel Losses
The biggest deletion over the offseason was the loss of Fred VanVleet, the undersized, undrafted PG who was offered a max deal from Houston and beat it out of town. Good for you Fred, the highest paid undrafted player of all time. Much was made of this loss at the time, but I believe it’s going to be a win-win. I believe Fred will thrive in Houston and I believe the Raptors will be more versatile without him.
The only other loss of note was the firing of Head Coach Nick Nurse. If it wasn’t obvious the year before last, it was more than obvious this past year that there was a disconnect between the Head Coach and the Front Office. Nick played his vets long, long minutes, including 3 in the league top 10 usage and played his bench among the fewest minutes in the league. Players like Malachi Flynn and other younger Raptors hardly saw any playing time. Was it because they didn’t deserve it or was Nurse trying to pad his wins? It’s not likely we’ll ever know for sure, but the net result was too little player development.
Personnel Gains
Dennis Schroder: In order to replace the experience and expertise of Fred VanVleet, the Raptors turned to the journeyman Schroder. Turning 30 this year, this will be Schroder’s 6th team in the NBA with previous stops including Atlanta, LA Lakers, Boston, OKC and most recently, Houston. Interestingly, Dennis was a key piece of the German team that just won the World Championship. He’ll bring toughness, leadership and a business-like attitude to the Raptors and could provide more of what this young team needs than the departed VanVleet and for considerably less money.
Jalen McDaniels: A 6 foot 9 inch small forward/power forward,, McDaniels has 5 seasons in the Association under his belt, 4 ½ with Charlotte and ½ a year with Philadelphia. Through 80 games played last season, McDaniels averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. We’ll have to see how a change of environment will affect his game and determine what type of impact he’ll have on the team.
The Dick Pick: From the draft, the Raptors selected 6’ 8” shooting guard/small forward Grady Dick with their 13th pick. His strength is outside shooting, something the Raptors have far too little of so it could be a happy marriage. As with all Rookies, only gametime will prove what he has and how much of it.
Markquis Nowell: Self proclaimed Greatest Raptor Ever, the NBA tiny 5’7” Nowell is as long on confidence as was his college career where he played for 5 years, the last 2 with Kansas. Undrafted, he accepted a 2-way contract with the Raptors and an opportunity to play with the big boys – literally. Let’s all cross our fingers and hope that the little fella’s prognostication of becoming the GROAT comes true. We could use another player with the skills and abilities of Kawhi Leonard.
Other Noteworthy Personnel Considerations
Darko Rajaković: New coach Raj spent 9 years as an assistant with the Thunder before joining the Raptors this season. His speciality is player development, a far cry from the heavy minutes given to the starters under previous coach Nick Nurse. Darko is also a close friend of Dennis Schroder
Otto Porter Jr.: Of course you know that Otto was part of the Raptors last season but since he missed almost the entire season with injuries he definitely has the potential to add depth and a dimension to the Raptors that they missed last season. Drafted with the 3rd pick in 2013, Otto looked like he was going to meet his potential before injuries derailed most of the rest of his career to date. Let’s hope he can stay healthy this year and have his most productive season yet.
Prediction for this Season
There are lots of fun storylines to follow this season with a team whose core won’t be getting too much more mature than they currently are. Unfortunately, if history is any guide, the Raptors are going to struggle again this year. Best player Pascal Siakim, will dazzle some nights but be painfully inconsistent. In order for the Raptors to be a threat in the East, Siakim must somehow find a way to be “on” 8 games out of 10 instead of 5 games out of 10. Second best player Scotty Barnes will have to step up and perform like a 3rd year ROTY winner. He will need to show up his draft class this year if the Raptors are going to qualify for the playoffs proper, not just the play-in. Schroder could also make a difference but he’d have to have his best season yet to deliver a large enough difference to win a playoff round. Not only these, but OG Anunoby will have to continue to improve and stay healthy, Gary Trent Jr will have to embrace his role off the bench and be in the conversation for 6th man and Jakob Poeltl will have to finally become the quick and efficient center this team has needed for several years now since Marc Gasol’s departure.
If all of these things don’t happen and it’s highly unlikely that they will, then the Raptors will be in tough just to make the playoffs. In either case, under Coach Raj it should be a fun watch understanding that this year just might be the last for this core if they can’t get it done.